BirdNote: The Northern Shrike

11/12/11 8:57AM

BirdNote is a new weekly feature on VPR. We'll learn about birds from
around the world and hear their songs. Listen at 8:57 on Saturday
mornings.

This week on BirdNote, we'll learn about the Northern Shrike. It breeds in the tundra and taiga of the north, but migrates south into the lower 48 for the winter.

It has a pleasing and rhythmical song, which it sings even in winter. But its song belies a rather bloodthirsty feeding habit. The shrike impales its prey on sharp thorns or barbed wire, where it can pull it apart and consume it.